Tesla is telling prospective buyers that new orders for its Model 3 will begin shipping in "mid-2018 or later."

As of Sunday, Tesla's website said deliveries for the new car "begin late 2017," but since then the company changed the wording to indicate that production on the car will begin mid 2017 and that the delivery estimate for "new reservations is mid-2018 or later."

Tesla confirmed that the new estimated delivery date will apply to new reservations only.

The first deliveries are expected to begin late 2017 for cars that have already been ordered. Tesla has 400,000 orders for the highly anticipated midsize sedan.

"Today's website update does not reflect any change in our plans," said a Tesla representative in a statement to CNBC. "We still plan to begin Model 3 production in mid-2017, and we adjusted the delivery date on our marketing page to reflect more accurate timing for new/future reservation holders."

Click here for the latest on the markets.

CLARIFICATION: This story was updated with Tesla saying that the new delivery date pertains to new reservations.